WILL OBAMA’S REFINANCING IDEA HELP BORROWERS?

YES: However, there appears to be many parts to the bill. The first extends the Home Affordable Refinance Program for another year, which will motivate people to refinance a property for lower payments instead of allowing it to go to foreclosure. This helps everyone and the economy. The second part seems to assure that, under a refinance in the Home Affordable Refinance Program, any losses would be absorbed by the taxpayers and not the bank, which would not benefit the country as a whole. The last part mentions streamlining lending guidelines. This would help the economy by helping underwater homeowners get a refinance.

There’s a bill making its way through Congress that would give “every responsible homeowner in America” a chance at refinancing their mortgages at today’s historically low rates, possibly saving folks $3,000 a year. President Barack Obama, in his State of the Union address, urged lawmakers to get this piece of legislation to his desk. We asked our Housing Huddle panel, made up of six local real estate insiders, if they thought this was a good idea. Lily Leung • U-T